


You Weren't The Only One Who Kept A Secret

by Rachel_John, ThyiaColt



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Own Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_John/pseuds/Rachel_John, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThyiaColt/pseuds/ThyiaColt
Summary: 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝑶𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 ...... right?(In which Kara asks the million-dollar question: Is there someone else close to Lena than herself?)A/N: This happens roughly after the crisis episode.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 42
Kudos: 90





	1. 'Cause I know I don't let you see (But you mean the world to me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena takes down Lex and Leviathan on her own. This leaves her unconscious. Kara realizes that she made a huge mistake and will stop at nothing to win Lena's trust back.
> 
> Title from: You Mean the World to Me (Freya Ridings)

Kara lets out a tired sigh as she watches Lena lying motionless on the hospital bed. Stubborn as she is, it’s not a surprise she decided to fight against Lex and Leviathan all on her own. Her ‘I-hate-you-Kara-for-keeping-a-secret’ was just all just a façade to fool her brother, but she fooled everyone.  
  
“Kara, she’s going to be alright. She is just unconscious. She will wake up in a few hours,” Alex affirms, holding her close in a side hug.  
  
“Are you sure, Alex? With the magnitude of injuries she has sustained—”.  
  
The unforgiving reality finally sets in and her throat constricts. Tears cascade, just piling on top of all her worries.  
  
Kara gently shrugs Alex’s comforting arms off. She doesn’t deserve to be comforted.  
  
“It’s all my fault, Alex! How could I have believed that she had gone over to the dark side?”  
  
“Hey, we are all to be blamed here. We believed that we understood Lena and she also put her faith in us, “Alex says remorsefully.  
  
No. This is all my fault.  
  
“But Alex you all weren’t as close to her as I was. I was her only best friend in National City. I kept reassuring her that I trusted her. She believed me and kept telling me that to be betrayed was her ultimate Achille’s heel. But in the end, I was the one who betrayed her by not telling her that I was Supergirl. And now when she put up a façade and …I...couldn't see through it.”  
  
At this point, it’s blatantly obvious that she’s blabbering. But Kara can’t help it, she’s worried sick.  
  
Alex doesn’t speak much after her outburst but Kara wishes she would.  
  
Suddenly, in the periphery of her eye, she notices Brainy running in her direction. She lets out a sigh of relief, glad to have something to keep her mind off of her troubles.  
  
“Thank God I found you both here.” Brainy huffs, coming to a stop. ”I did a full sweep of Lena’s office and found this USB addressed to you,” He says, addressing Kara.

* * *

  
**Meanwhile at L-Corp, Metropolis.**  
  
“Lena Luthor left injured after her battle against Lex Luthor—“. The reporter drones on the TV, just adding to their frustration. Give it to media to blow things out of proportion and things were already out of proportion, to begin with!  
  
“Sam, I’m sorry but could you please turn that off?” Shanaya says, not sounding sorry at all.  
  
Sam wordlessly does her bidding and comes around the table to give the woman a quick hug, meant to reassure but it does anything but that.  
  
”She’s gonna be fine. She is strong and she ain’t going down without a fight.”  
  
“I hope so, Sam. It’s terrible enough that we still don’t know about her whereabouts,” Shanaya says, her frustration beyond obvious.  
  
Her prayers are answered sooner than she expected as Sam’s assistant enters  
  
“Ms. Arias, you have visitors,” the assistant informs them.  
  
“Who is it?” Samantha asks, hoping to God it’s who she thinks it may be.  
  
“Two people by the name of Kara and Alex Danvers, ma’am.”  
  
She straightens immediately in barely contained joy.  
  
“Send them in right away.”  
  
“OK, ma’am.”  
  
Kara and Alex enter after a few moments, their faces etched with relief and underlined with worry. This comes off as a no-brainer to Sam, considering the matters at hand.  
  
“Oh my god, it’s so good to see you both!” Sam exclaims, meeting her friends halfway for a tight group hug.  
  
“It’s so good to see you too,” Kara says, her voice muffled against Sam’s shoulder, “but I wish it was under better circumstances.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Sam asks, pulling away from the hug reluctantly. “Is Lena okay?” she asks, already dreading their reply.  
  
“She is fine for now,” Alex reassures her, much to her relief, “We just wanted to know if you are acquainted with anyone by the name of Shanaya Anderson?”  
  
“Right here in the flesh,” Shanaya says making her presence finally known, “Why do guys wanna know who I am?”  
  
“We have a video to show you,” Kara says, piquing her interest. “Watch it and you will know why.”


	2. You should know (You're the reason I let myself fall)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena reveals about a person that she has never spoken to anyone about. Kara goes to Metropolis to meet the said person and gets to know her more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for sticking around. Here's chapter 2. Irish translations at the end.
> 
> Key: A/N is author’s note  
> E/N is editor’s notes  
> Yes, we are two different people. 
> 
> E/N: (Irish readers can ignore this note) in this story the author has used some Irish phrases. For the translation I have used html coding—you can simply hover above the foreign/underlined phrases and a quirky explanation  
>  _should_ appear. If it doesn’t work on some devices or browsers...well, you don’t know me and I don’t know you. This never happened.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Chapter title: You Should Know (Damian McGinty)

Kara plugs in the USB to the LED display in Sam's office.

Her usually sharp features are softened by the sunlight streaming through the blinds, but Kara belatedly realizes that it does nothing to smother her beauty.  
  
Looking at Lena sitting down at her desk nursing a glass of whiskey a small smile playing on her lips sets off something inside Kara that she can't quite pinpoint.  
  
Amongst all the jumbled thoughts and emotions, she almost doesn’t catch what Lena says a few seconds into the video.   
  
“Hey Kara,” Lena says as a way of greeting, as she has millions of times before the whole ordeal happened. “If you are watching this recording it either means that I am dead or I am dying—.” She fake coughs as if this whole situation is a colossal joke. “—I mean, or I am not in a state to tell you this face-to-face. I hope it is the latter,” she laughs finally, the mirth in her eyes becoming palpable.  
  
Unconsciously, the corners of Kara’s lips twitch.  
  
Only a second ticks by before Lena sobers.  
  
“Anyway, I wanted to say that I’m _sorry_ —.” She sounded so genuine that Kara’s heart _ached_ and she had to bite down the urge to say that _‘this is my fault, not yours’_ “—I shouldn’t have pushed you away and put up a façade. Typical Luthor style.” she paused, seemingly reconsidering her words.  
  
“No, actually, if I was as smart as Lillian and Lex then I would’ve figured out you were Supergirl on my own….but I’m _not_ angry, I mean, not anymore. I was angry initially but you can understand why I was. But the more I thought about it, the more it became clear about your motives.” She pauses, to sip her whiskey daintily and seemed to be thinking about how to phrase her thoughts—if the way her eyes suddenly darts to her office table suggests anything.

  
“I’m already a walking target, me knowing that you are Supergirl would’ve put a lot of people including yourself in danger and I couldn’t bear that,” she says, and quickly adds, “So it’s _okay_ and _please_ don’t blame yourself for anything.”   
  
Kara lets out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.  
  
_It’s as if Lena knew that I would take the burden of guilt_. Of course, she does—   
  
“If I am alive, which I hope I am, I will try my absolute best to come back to you and sit with you and talk for hours just like old times,” she sighs, looking at the swirling golden brown whiskey as if she was reminiscing.  
  
“We really are a mess,” she mutters, chuckling, more to herself than anyone.  
  
“And one more thing,” she says, once again looking up as if she almost forgot the purpose of the recording, “can you go to Metropolis and meet this woman named Shanaya Anderson? She would be worried sick about me. Just tell her how I am. She will tell you who she is and how she is related to me. Love you, Kara!”   
  
She smiles at the camera one last time, her features suddenly sharp as the sunlight had receded. She reached beneath the pristine white office desk and immediately the screen goes blank.

* * *

"She _is_ fine isn’t she?” Shanaya says after a moment. Her shaky voice attracting all the eyes in the room.  
  
Kara’s eyes widen as she notices a wet trail along the side of Shanaya’s cheeks.  
  
_She’s been crying…_  
  
“Hey, look at me,” Kara whispers, which seems to echo in the quiet the room has settled into.   
  
Shanaya reluctantly lifts her head to look at Kara and so she continues, “She is fine, _trust_ me. It will just take time for the bruises to scab over, that’s _it_.”  
  
The lie burns her tongue and leaves an acrid taste. Kara shifts her focus towards Sam and nods.  
  
“Thank you so much for coming here. We were really worried about her,” Sam says, evidently grateful.   
  
“She wanted it,” Alex states as a matter-of-fact, “From what we gathered you are the owner of Andersons’ Tech.”  
  
“That’s what the world sees me as…not Lena though,” Shanaya says, moving towards one of the settees. She passes her eyes over everyone and says, “To her… I am so much more and vice versa. Have a seat I will tell you my story.”

* * *

  
  
_I was born in Ireland, to a relatively normal middle-class family consisting of me, my brother, my mother and my father. One day it all changed for the worse. It was a week away from my fourth birthday. My parents had gone out to get my birthday present. An hour later, the police show up at the door and tell us that our parents met with an accident and death seconds after._  
  
_With no relatives who were willing to take us in, we were put in an adoption home. I was still in shock and all I did was sitting ducks all day. My brother had to force-feed me so that I stayed alive._  
  
_Around the same time, Lena’s mother had also passed away and Lionel hadn’t come to take her to the Luthor mansion yet. Lena was put in the same adoption home as ours. She saw me sitting in a corner all alone, facing the wall, staring at nothing._  
  
_I don’t know why my younger self did it… but I suppose the stark white of the wall helped numb my brain, a short-lived relief to the trauma I was unable to handle at that time._  
  
_And so, she sat beside me. Without reluctance, she looked me in the eye, smiling and kind, and showed me her palm._  
  
_In my barely suppressed delirium, I wondered what this chipmunk faced kid was doing. Then it clicked—she offering me a helping hand, in every sense of the phrase._  
  
_That was all it took for me to cave._  
  
_I finally felt the reality and the weight of the situation my mind had been trying to protect me from, felt it like a palpable thing—suffocating me._  
  
_Mamaí won’t be there to tuck me in bed._  
  
_No more valentines with daidí. _  
  
_As a four-year-old …it’s a miracle I even understood the finality that came with death._  
  
_A year later, Lionel had come to take Lena. I was so devastated but we promised to write to each other. We were small and we could hardly read or write but my brother used to write on my behalf and her nanny used to write for her._  
  
_A month or so later a couple had to come to adopt me. They saw how I refused to let go of my brother and they adopted both of us. The pretty lady, whom I later realized was my soon-to-be adoptive mom, said that it’s too cruel to separate souls as close as ours. Damn, right it is!_  
  
_I got to know that they were rich and ran a really big company. In the letters Lena had her nanny sent me, she warned me about how preposterous the gilded world is. After a few months of settling into my new home, after associating different faces to the words ‘mamaí’ and ‘daidí’, I realized her worries were all for naught._  
  
_They loved us both dearly and it showed—especially in the pockets of time they kept aside for us, even though they were really busy._  
  
_Well, as fate would have it, Lena and I were accepted into the same university. We were reunited after years. We used to meet up often but not too long after, those became few and far in between. Lillian got to know that she was spending a lot of time with me and threatened Lena. Only after Lena had assured her that I was ‘rich’ did she allow Lena to be friends with me._  
  
_I admit I was sheltered, dare I say I deserved it just a bit and slowly but surely I was beginning to see truly how preposterous the gilded world is._

  
_Time went on._  
  
_We returned home._  
  
_Not soon after, we had our hands to play in our respective family businesses._  
  
_Lex was in power then._  
  
_He offered our company a deal—to aid him in one of his maniacal plans. When we refused, he was livid. To get back at us and to warn Lena against making such friends, he sent gunmen against me._  
  
_Three bullets but I’m still alive._

_What followed was a series of attacks from Lillian and Lex. After noticing the amount of danger I was in…she decided to never speak to me in public and used to meet me secretly and that’s how it has been going on for the past few years._

* * *

  
  
“Wow… you both go a really long way, huh,” Kara says, tone envious. “I thought I was her best friend.”  
  
“Don’t be jealous Kara. You still hold the title of Lena’s best friend. I’m more like a younger sister,” Shanaya interjects.   
  
“Do you want to come and see her?” Alex asks, noticing that these two were close and more like the only family Lena had. Alex was more than willing to bend a few rules to let her in.  
  
“Isn’t she being treated in a secret government facility?” Shanaya asks.  
  
“Yes…but we can pull a few strings and get you in,” she says with a cheeky grin.  
  
“It’s okay Ms. Danvers. I’ll meet her when she is alright. I’ll stay in National City until then.”  
  
“Please call me Alex. Anyone who is this close to Lena is a friend of ours too”, Alex says, smiling genuinely.  
  
Shanaya blinks.   
  
“Oh, I’m honored…Alex. Lena would never stop talking about you both! You have made her feel at home and thank you all so much for that. I couldn’t be there to take care of her properly but I was at peace knowing that she was in good hands,” said Shanaya—suddenly looking torn over how to express her gratitude properly.   
  
“She used to tell you about us?” asked Kara.  
  
“Oh! She would talk non-stop about you guys. Kara did this, Alex did that,” Sam adds, shaking her head fondly.  
  
Sam’s assistant chooses that moment to interrupt, “Ms. Arias, Clark Kent is here requesting to see Ms. Anderson.”  
  
“Send him in,” Sam answers with a nod.  
  
“What trouble has he gotten into now?” Shanaya mutters, looking at the ceiling.   
  
“I didn’t get into any trouble. I wanted an interview…Oh hey, Kara, Alex what are you guys doing here?” Clark asks excitedly.  
  
Kara almost forgets to breathe.  
  
_You have to be kidding me!_

“You know them?” Shanaya questions, crossing her arms.  
  
“Obviously! Kara is my cousin”  
  
Shanaya looks at Kara from the corner of her eyes surprised “I never knew you had a cousin, Clark”  
  
Kara can be seen signaling Clark to stop talking but Clark, quite comically, decides to be unbearably oblivious.  
  
“Oh no! She isn’t Clark’s cousin”, Clark replies  
  
“But you just said…”  
  
“She is Kal-El’s cousin.”  
  
“Oh like _that_ —wait a minute. That would mean—” Shanaya turns, eyes as wide as saucers, and points to Kara, “You are Supergirl,” she whisper-shouts.  
  
There’s a moment of silence as if the universe is mock-mourning the reveal Kara Danvers’ biggest open secret.  
  
“The one and only,” Kara replies, sheepish, and rightly so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mamaí-Mom  
> daidí-Dad
> 
> E/N: Since the HTML coding doesn't show up for some readers the author is adding translations at the end too.


	3. It's a better place since you came along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shanaya gets to know what exactly Lena did, Clark and Shanaya have a friendly chat. Shanaya moves to National City to take care of Lena.
> 
> Title from: Better Place (Rachel Platten)

“You. Are. Supergirl,” Shanaya exclaims her tone bordering the grey line of what they might be considered inappropriate volume in an office setting. 

“ _Supergirl_ ,” she repeats, and to a stranger, this situation would have been amusing.

Her recent friend is National City’s residential _hero_. Shanaya’s eyes flit across the window screen in a vain attempt to spot flying pigs.

Because this is Supergirl, in flesh and blood.

Kara, to Alex’s embarrassment, shouts back with just as much as vigor, if not more so.

“I thought Lena told you!”

“Lena knows?”

Alex and Sam share an embarrassed (but certainly much endeared) smile.

“Oh, don’t get me started on that,” Kara shudders, thinking of the complete shit that went down over the past few months.

“What happened?” Shanaya asks, curious.

Kara takes a deep breath before delving into the matters of the past and the events leading up to their current situation. She recites the entire story of how Lex beat her in the chase of revealing the latter’s secret, the Crisis, the facade Lena put up.

As she approaches the anti-climax, Kara lacks the initial enthusiasm with which she had begun. She struggles to maintain a steady voice when she tells Shanaya about how Lena had fought Lex and Leviathan alone. 

Somewhere along the memory lane, Kara had taken a significant interest in everything except for Shanaya’s eyes. She felt as if her resolve would crumble if she looked into them.

She wasn’t alone in that belief. Because, as she breached the topic of Lena getting hospitalized (leaving out certain details to not worry Shanaya), a few tears escaped both of their eyes.

A few moments pass and Shanaya takes her time trying to calm her hurting heart while Kara breaths hard and blinks were even harder to smother her tears.

“Wow… So much happened, and I… didn’t even know,” whispers Shanaya. Kara can hear the trembling in her voice.

_Lena must mean a lot to her if she’s hurting this bad…_

“She… didn’t tell you about my secret?” Kara asks, voice thick.

“Kara, we might be close but she would _never_ disclose such a big secret to me. Not without your consent,” Shanaya chides Kara. “But she confused me when she suddenly moved from ‘ _Kara Danvers is my best friend_ ’ to ‘ _I hate her very existence_ ’,” Shanaya replies, some mirth in her voice and intending her remark to be a well-meaning joke.

“She said that,” Kara states, with a resigned expression. Her shoulders drop slightly as she resolves to herself that Lena’s reaction is to be expected.

_Doesn’t make it hurt any less, does it?_

Shanaya’s eyes widen the instant she notices Kara’s crestfallen look. 

“No... No! Those weren’t the _exact_ words, don’t worry!” she blurts, storing away this news that Kara Danvers couldn’t get any more different from Supergirl than this. 

“It’s highly unlikely for Lena to _hate_ you,” Shanaya says, returning Sam’s subtle smirk, feeling a strange camaraderie with her.

Kara suddenly perks up. Alex’s phone rings at the same.

“Got to go! Supergirl’s needed. When are you coming to National City?” Kara asks.

“I need to settle things over here. The company still has to run in my absence. I will text you when I get there,” Shanaya answers with a shrug.

“Okie Dokie!” Kara throws over her shoulders as she and Alex disappear through the office door.

* * *

**At Andersons’ Tech.**

“What interview do you want now, Mr. Kent?” Shanaya asks with an eyebrow raised and takes her seat behind her desk. She motions for Clark Kent to take the visitors’ chair in front of her desk.

“Oh, we are back to business now, huh? Okay, here it is. Your company has announced the release of a new tech that will do well with the public, help many people and all. I was hoping to get a little inside scoop,” Clark rumbles, voice dropping a few octaves as he leans forward in his chair, a motion that’s Shanaya finds entirely funny as Clark looks at her expectantly.

 _Let me in on some secrets_ , his eyes seem to say.

Shanaya laughs as she gives in to his whims and answers all the questions thrown at her. Kara quivering voice pushed to the back of the mind, letting herself be at the moment. She enjoys this distraction Clark provides.

They were laughing breathlessly by the end of the interview. Clark sobered up first.

“Anyway business aside—” _We were doing business?_ “—and back to us being just Shanaya and Clark.” He leans back and looking Shanaya dead in the eye, he asks, “How are you?”

Shanaya blinks as her confusion grows. Even more so as she takes notice of concern etching his features and coloring his voice.

“I’m fine, Clark.” She cocks her head and continues in perplexity, “Why… do you ask?”

Clark waves his palm off-handedly as if to say that he’s flabbergasted by Shanaya’s blunt front. His annoyed demeanor makes Shanaya want to break out into a shit-eating grin.

“You know… with the whole—” (more annoyed palm waving) “—kidnapping thing that happened? You haven’t even told anyone about it yet,” Clark finishes with a frustrated noise (which is a warranted reaction given that Shanaya was being a stubborn brat and refusing to remember).

Shanaya looks down suddenly, dropping the act. How foolish of her to think Clark might not question her if she pretended to have forgotten all about… _that_.

She takes a deep breath, willing herself to not feel too much. She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and finally meets Clark’s eye, although reluctantly.

Shanaya speaks slowly, “I was waiting for Lex to disappear until I could tell someone. If he found out that the experiment was successful then who knows what he would’ve done.”

She immediately sits straight, unable to breathe.

_Damn it all, I thought I was being careful._

_Pain. Something’s hurting._

Suddenly his voice breaks through, like a beacon of light through thick fog.

“Hey don’t think about that. Lex is gone now. You are _safe_ ,” Clark murmurs, voice dropping to a soft lilt, ever so patient until Shanaya could get a grip on her hammering heart. She concentrates on the hint of a heartbeat she can feel through his palm from where she has got a death grip on him.

Swallowing, she thinks through the muted pain. _Panic attack, I was about to have a panic attack._ She laughs mirthlessly in her head. _Shanaya when did you become so weak?_

“Thank you,” Shanaya breathes out, genuinely grateful. It’s not an everyday thing that someone understands and will be so caring. More often than not her episodes are met with confused looks and mildly freaked out questions. _Too many questions_.

 _Nothing less to be expected from him. He is Superman_ , she supposed.

“Anytime,” he rumbles, shoulders tense. “But I don’t want to fly all the way to National City whenever you have an episode. Not that I would mind,” he adds. Shanaya laughs and pats his hands. Some tension wears off and he asks, “are you going to tell someone?”

“Yeah! I will.” She leans back, slipping his hands from her hold, and takes a deep breath. “Let everything settle down first, Clark. I will let Lena know after she recovers,” Shanaya sighs, letting her gaze drift across her office. 

Applying a pleasurable pressure over her pulsing temple, she thinks maybe it’s time to switch out the light accents in her office for dark mahogany. Something sinister to match the mood that has draped over National City.

Clark perks up suddenly, looking hopeful, and she shifts her eyes back to more serious matters.

“You know you can trust Kara, right?” Clark reminds her.

“Maybe. But I _just_ met her.” She can’t help but feel mildly affronted. 

“I don’t want to tell her immediately. I know she’s Supergirl and all but… I don’t want to give her the benefit of the doubt too soon.” Shanaya raises her eyebrows at Clark, hoping that he realizes his mistake. He does if the sheepish look on his face suggests anything.

He puts his palms up in an _‘it’s-your-call-but-I-was-just-suggesting'_ motion.

He stands up. He makes sure not to drag the chair and make any unnecessary noise. This doesn’t go unnoted. Shanaya’s got a lady’s eye and she can recognize a gentleman when she sees one.

She comes around her desk to escort him out. 

“You’ve got my support in whatever you decided,” he says, stepping outside and extending his arms for a hug.

“Thank you, Clark,” Shanaya says gratefully, allowing herself to be comforted in Clark’s embrace.

* * *

**Two weeks later.**

Shanaya settles comfortably at the back of her car. 

She watches the glittering towers of skyscrapers whiz past and feels the near-constant tension in her shoulders ease up as she eyes the vibrant purples and blues in the dimming sky. 

Lena was right when she said that the scenery of National City instilled a sense of calm in the being of the beholder. Shanaya wishes she could move here for good. She should probably open up a branch here. 

“We are here, Ms. Anderson,” the driver announces, shaking her out of her wandering thoughts. 

“Thank you so much, Rupin,” Shanaya says, politely smiling, as she steps out of the car.

Her apartment is spacious. She managed to get the one below Lena’s. The balcony offered the view of National City. It would be so lovely to just cuddle up with a book and hot chocolate. And a blanket. A blanket is a must. 

_It has been so long since I read anything that weren’t reports_ , she thinks. 

Standing there, in the living room, awash in the dim lights of the city span, she remembers that she had to text Kara.

 **Shanaya** : Hey. It's Shanaya. I just reached my apartment in National City.

 **Kara** : Omg! Gimme a minute.

 _Exactly_ a minute later, Shanaya heard something like a bang against the balcony doors. Shanaya turns to see Kara smashed against the doors. Her cheeks plastered on the tinted glass and she’s looking at the glass cross-eyed as if its very existence is an insult to her being.

Shanaya can’t stop the loud laugh that chokes out, tears and all. 

“Could you stop _please_ stop laughing and open the doors?” Kara huffs, un-sticking herself from the glass surface. Her voice is muffled but Shanaya can hear her.

Shanaya continues to giggle while sliding the doors open. Hearing her laugh so freely causes Kara to crack up, too. 

“You should’ve warned me that you were going to come _flying_ in!” Shanaya says through her cheeky grin, a small laugh bubbles out of her as she remembers Kara’s squished cheeks.

“I usually just come through the windows when I visit someone. So…” Kara says as a matter-of-fact, shrugging sheepishly. She looks around Shanaya’s apartment, appraising.

“Okay, I’ll keep in mind to leave the doors open,” Shanaya notes with a soft smile, “Water? That’s the only thing I can offer,” she says politely, looking around her new apartment, littered with packed boxes as far as the eye can see.

“Nah,” Kara says, swiping her palm through the air. “Thanks, though,” she adds.

“Want to help you unpack?” she asks, but it sounds more like a statement rather than an offer.

“It’s okay! I don’t wanna bother you.” Shanaya says, eyes wide and quick to interject.

“Psh…Please! I’m a _Kryptonian_ —with super strength and super speed and all that ish. This won’t affect me!” says Kara, picking up a box with practiced ease and fluid grace, which is to be _expected_ but still leaves Shanaya breathless. 

“Let me,” enunciates Kara, tipping her head forward (like the queen she is).

It’s one thing to see it on media and recordings and it’s an _entirely_ different thing to experience first-hand. Before Shanaya can even blink twice, almost all the furniture has been assembled (in some place Kara deemed fit but assembled nonetheless).

“ _Okay!_ ” Shanaya’s cheeks tint because her voice came out higher than she would like. She clears her throat and replies, wonderstruck, “Super-speed. Got it.” 

“Is this arrangement okay?” Kara asks, examining her work.

“Yeah…yeah, they are. My apartment is almost ready without me breaking a sweat,” Shanaya replies, chuckling. She walks around and notes that one of the loveseats is facing the wall.

Hmm, that may have to be changed.

Shanaya and Kara work side by side to put the apartment together. They are quite satisfied with their work as they crash on the, now usable, loveseat.

“How come you aren’t tired? Normally, humans get tired after so much work.” Kara looks at her from the periphery of her eye.

“ ’Cause I’m not human,” Shanaya mumbles under her breath, barely even audible to herself.

“Hmm?” Kara asks, eyes searching for any faults in the arrangement and not paying mind to Shanaya.

“I’m tired,” Shanaya replies, making a show of how ‘tired’ she is.

Before Kara can catch her red-handed her phone tings with a notification. She swipes up and suddenly sits straight, lips pressed to a thin line.

“Ah…shoot! I have to get back to Catco. Catch up with you later,” Kara says, quickly getting up and making her way to open balcony. She throws an unreadable look over her shoulders, face silhouetted by the city lights below her. But it’s covered up so suddenly with a smile, Shanaya thinks maybe she imagined it.

Then she’s off, not as Kara but as Supergirl.

“Bye,” Shanaya whispers, eyes latched onto Kara’s retreating form.  
_


	4. If your wings are broken (Borrow mine so yours can open too)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena wakes up.
> 
> Title from: Stand By You (Rachel Platten)
> 
> Yes, Rachel Platten is my favourite singer and no its not because we share our names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for the extremely long chapter. And there might be countless mistakes. Please tell me if you find any. Irish translations at the end of the chapter.

Shanaya is sitting in her apartment reading through her mails when she sees a text from Kara.

 **Kara:** Where are you?

 **Shanaya:** At my apartment.

 **Kara:** Keep the balcony open. I’m coming there.

 **Shanaya:** 👍🏻

A few minutes later Kara comes through the balcony making the papers Shanaya placed on the coffee table scatter away. 

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” Kara apologizes, rushing around to gather the papers.

“It’s okay!” Shanaya replies.

“There you go,” Kara says, handing over the papers.

“Thank you,” Shanaya says. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Oh right. I need you to come with me,” Kara says.

“Where?” Shanaya enquires.

“Lena is coming around. Alex asked me to get you,” Kara says, excited at the prospect of seeing her friend again.

Shanaya stands up and then hesitates, remembering something.

“What’s the matter?” Kara asks.

“Secret government facility?” 

“Oh, that!”

Kara pulls out a blindfold and holds it out to Shanaya.

Shanaya looks at her, expecting an explanation for the blindfold. Kara seemed to realize this.

“This is so you don’t know where it is. Besides, protocol requires a family member to be present. And you are the only one left for Lena who isn’t dead or in prison.”

“Ah… that explains it,” Shanaya turns around to allow Kara to tie the blindfold.

Kara secures the blindfold and sweeps Shanaya in her arms. Shanaya yelps.

“Should’ve warned me first,” Shanaya exclaims.

“Sorry! I’m going to fly now okay?” Kara says and takes off as soon as Shanaya nods.

* * *

**At the DEO**

Kara lands on the DEO balcony and sets Shanaya down. 

“I’m going to remove the blindfold,” Kara says.

Shanaya opens her eyes and blinks a few times to adjust to the light. The DEO is massive, like any other government building.

“Come on. Let me take you to where Lena is,” Kara says, drawing her attention.

Shanaya places her hand on the window to Lena’s room when they reach there. A few tears stream down her face looking at Lena hooked up to machines. There are bruises on her face, and her leg is in a cast. She can see the gentle rise and fall of Lena’s chest as she breathes with the help of the oxygen mask on her face. She didn’t realize the intensity of her wounds until she sees Lena laying there.

Kara realizes Shanaya is crying and moves to pull the woman in for a hug and murmurs words to calm her down.

Alex comes and notices this as she comes round the corner. She places a reassuring hand on Shanaya’s shoulder.

“Lena is getting better day by day and might even come around today,” Alex tells her to reassure her.

“Can I go inside, please?” Shanaya asks pleading.

“Yeah sure,” Alex opened the door of Lena’s room.

Shanaya takes a tentative step inside. She sits on one of the stools near the hospital bed. She takes Lena’s hand tenderly in hers, afraid that she might hurt her. She just sits down quietly, just like how Lena had done so many years ago at the orphanage. This action causes Lena to stir. 

Shanaya immediately shoots up from her chair. She motions for Alex and Kara to come in.

“I think she is waking up,” Shanaya tells them when they enter the room.

They both rush to Lena’s bedside and wait for the brunette to open her eyes.

Slowly Lena opens her eyes and immediately shuts it, unable to bear the harshness of the white light after living in a dark world for so long. Kara immediately moves to reduce the glare of the lights.

“Hey Lena, you can open your eyes now,” Shanaya whispers gently

Lena’s head immediately shoots up when she recognizes the sound of her younger sister. She immediately groans because of the pain.

“Shouldn’t have done that,” Shanaya says teasingly easing Lena back onto the bed.

Lena turns her head slowly to see Alex and Kara standing on her left, relief etched in their expressions as Lena finally wakes up from her deep sleep.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Alex playfully jokes.

Lena manages a small smile. It hurts even to do that. She then looks at Kara with a guilty expression.

“I’m sorry,” she croaks out, her voice hoarse with the lack of use.

“Hey don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. I’m the one who is supposed to say sorry,” Kara says, a guilty expression on her face.

Alex places a hand on her shoulder. 

“You two can cry all you want after I finish checking Lena up, okay? You both have a lot to say but not now,” Alex asks looking at both their faces for confirmation. They just nod their head.

Shanaya comes to the other side to guide Kara outside. Lena immediately stretches her hand to grab Shanaya’s.

Shanaya turns to look at Lena. The latter looks at her, pleading silently asking her to stay.

It hurts for Shanaya to leave her hand but she is forced to do so, “Hey I’m going to wait outside. Alex just needs to do a quick check-up. I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Lena slowly releases her hand. Shanaya gives her a small smile and goes to sit outside

Once outside, Kara pulls Shanaya in a tight hug not paying any attention to the weird looks the agents give her. They aren’t used to seeing the Girl of Steel crumble in a crying mess. Shanaya wraps her hand around Kara and gently strokes her golden locks.

“Shh… it’s okay. She is awake now. Nothing will happen to her,” Shanaya continues to whisper sweet nothings until she calms down trying her best to keep her own emotions in check.

* * *

Alex comes out of the room with a smile on her face. 

“She’s fine, stop looking like you saw someone kick a puppy. I can discharge her within a week,” Alex said.

“Can I look at her charts?” Shanaya asks.

Alex just stares at her and then turns to look at her sister. The latter just shrugs her shoulders in response.

“Are you going to show it to another doctor for another opinion?” Alex says feeling uneasy.

“Of course not, Alex, I completely trust that you are an amazing doctor, Lena has told the same so many times. I am a doctor too and it kind of reassures me, not that I don’t trust you, I do…,” Shanaya rambles 

“Wow! You will give Kara a run for her money with your rambling”, Alex chuckle. Kara joins her sister while Shanaya pouts. Lena watches the scene from her bed and smiles. Her best friends have finally met her younger sister and seem to like her. 

* * *

Shanaya and Kara enter Lena’s room and finds her asleep.  
  
“She looks so peaceful,” Shanaya whispers.  
  
“I’m sure this is the first time she has properly slept in years,” Kara says amused.  
  
Kara suddenly perks up as if she heard something. Brainy comes running in and informs that there is a Supergirl emergency.  
  
“Gotta go! You will be here, right?” Kara asked.  
  
“Yep!” Shanaya replied.  
  


* * *

  
After Kara left, Shanaya took a few minutes to watch Lena sleep peacefully. She must admit being in National City, close to Lena, makes her feel peaceful at last. Sure, she trusted Lena to take care of herself (Not really!) and she had friends to watch her back (dia dhaoibh) but still being near her and making sure she was fine brought her some satisfaction.  
  
After sitting there for some time, Shanaya took out her phone and dialed Clark’s number. It rang two times before he picked it up.  
  
“Hey!” Clark’s cheery voice greeted her.  
  
“Someone’s having a happy day,” Shanaya replied, cringing at the overly cheerful voice.  
  
“I found an amazing lead for my story,” Clark reasoned.  
  
“Oh. So how are you?” Shanaya asked.  
  
“The boys are driving Lois and I crazy,” Clark replied tiredness clear in his voice, “you?”  
  
“I’m doing well,” Shanaya replied with a content sigh.  
  
“Lena?” Clark asked.  
  
“She is conscious now,” Shanaya replied, sparing a glance at Lena.  
  
“Good. Why did you call?” Clark asked  
  
“I was bored.”  
  
“You were bored? You called me because you were bored. Come on, Shanaya.”  
  
“Okay, fine. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”  
  
“Heads up?”  
  
“Yeah, I might tell Lena and Kara about the kidnapping soon so…”  
  
“That's great, Shanaya. She might help you with your powers too.”  
  
“I’m sure she will help me better than you. Okay then, bye.”  
  
“Goodbye.”

* * *

  
Shanaya was replying to some emails when she sees Lena stirring from the corner of her eyes. She turns off her phone and places a reassuring hand on Lena’s.  
  
“Hey”, Shanaya quietly whispers, “you need anything?”  
  
“Water,” Lena croaks out.  
  
Shanaya pours water from the mug on the table in a glass and gently lifts to Lena’s lips. Lena takes a few sips before she pushes the glass away. Shanaya goes to place the glass back on the table.  
  
“You really are here?” Lena asked unable to believe that her sister is so near to her.

“Yep, and get used to it. I will be in National City till you get well,” Shanaya turns around a huge smile on her face.

“Then I hope that I never become all right,” Lena whispers  
  
“bí i do thost, Lena!” Shanaya chastised.  
  
“tá brón orm,” Lena replied, hanging her head.  
  
“Lena, I’m still mad at you for going after Lex and Leviathan all alone. You didn’t even tell me. It worried Sam and me,” Shanaya said.  
  
She might be the younger one by age, but Lena behaved like one most of the time.  
  
“How is it my fault? I called you so many times and left so many messages but no reply”, Lena questions her  
  
“Right about that,” Shanaya replied, looking anywhere but Lena.  
  
Lena looks at her waiting.  
  
“What?”, Lena asks  
  
“Nothing”, Shanaya dismisses her.  
  
Lena drops the topic, trusting Shanaya to tell her when she feels comfortable.  
  
“Who were you talking to?” Lena asks instead.  
  
“Clark”  
  
“Clark Kent? You know him that well!”  
  
“Yeah, I helped him many times to get leads and also helped him as Superman”  
  
“Superman? Clark is Superman?”  
  
“You didn’t know that, did you?”  
  
Lena just shakes her head. Kara chooses that moment to enter.  
  
“Hey, you’re awake!” Kara skips to Lena’s bedside and hugs her carefully.  
  
“Kara, fill in the blank. Clark is …?” Lena asked after she was released from the hug.  
  
“A reporter?” Kara answers.  
  
Lena simply raises her eyebrow.  
  
“Give me a clue?” Kara asks.  
  
“Its something you both have in common,” Lena supplies.  
  
“Oh right. He is Superman,” Kara answers sheepishly.  
  
“And I’m the last one to know,” Lena looks at her pointedly  
  
“I’m sorry. I know I made a huge mistake by not telling my secret. But I was just trying to protect you. I didn’t know that I was actually hurting you- ” Kara starts to ramble.  
  
Shanaya uses this moment to slip out of the room knowing that this was a conversation they both had to have in private.  
  
“Kara, you saw the video right?” Lena waits for Kara to confirm before continuing, “So you know that I forgave you for that a long time back, right? I get the reason why you did that. I know I pushed you away but that was so I could take down Lex without raising his suspicions.”  
  
“Stupid decision by the way. You could’ve died. Did you ever stop to think about what I would do if something ever happened to you? I would have to constantly live with the guilt that I didn’t tell you when I should’ve. Please promise me that you will never think about doing something this rash again. I lo — can’t live without my best friend, Lena. Promise me.”, Kara looked at Lena with tears in her eyes almost begging her  
  
“I promise, Kara,” Lena replied tears streaming down her face. She was scared when she finally defeated Lex and laid on the floor bleeding. Was she scared of dying? No, she had numerous attacks on her to get over it. She was scared of leaving Kara without saying a proper goodbye, without telling her how she felt.  
  
“Thank you so much,” Kara replied relieved.  
  
Shanaya entered the room.  
  
“Am I interrupting?” Shanaya asked popping her head inside  
  
“No, come on in,” Kara motions her to enter  
  
“I got a call from your lawyer, Lena” Shanaya informed  
  
“Oh, what was it?” Lena asked  
  
“The contract you forced me to sign has come to bite me in the ass,” Shanaya deadpanned  
  
Lena questioningly raised her eyebrows.  
  
“If anything happens to the C.E.O, that is Lex, you were the one who would take charge. But since you are out of commission”, Lena raised her eyebrows yet again at Shanaya’s choice of words, ”I’m the one who has to take charge?”  
  
“Yes,” Lena replied a smirk on her face  
  
“Why would you do that?” Shanaya asked  
  
“I trust you to take care of the company,” Lena shrugs  
  
“What about Sam?” Shanaya asked crossing her arms  
  
“She is in Metropolis and she has Ruby too. It will be hard for her to move to National City,” Lena replies  
  
“But still…”, Shanaya whines  
  
“Nothing. You are taking care of the company in my absence. End of discussion.”, Lena states.  
  
Shanaya just crosses her hand, like a kid throwing a fit.  
  
“You are a child”, Lena chuckles. Kara joins her. Shanaya just sticks out her tongue to both of them.

* * *

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Irish translations:
> 
> dia dhaoibh- God bless them
> 
> bí i do thost- Keep quiet
> 
> tá brón orm- I'm sorry


	5. We could fool the datelines (We could jump the statelines)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lillian pays a visit to Shanaya and Lena finally gets discharged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the edited version.
> 
> Title from: Heartlines (Broods)

To say Shanaya was going crazy would be the understatement of the century. 

  
Firstly, she had to answer an incoming flood of emails from her company regarding her absence. She had begged her mother to take over her position until she returned. 

  
Secondly, she had to attend Luthor-Corp’s board meeting. White, sexist men filled the board who weren’t too pleased with the idea that Lena let Shanaya take over. They doubted that a woman could lead Luthor-Corp.

“I’m sure you have heard about Andersons’s Tech,” Shanaya asked, “Lex has partnered up with them on multiple occasions.”

“We have. That company has reached new heights and has brought technologies that have helped millions. The man behind it sure is one hell of a genius. But I don’t see what that has to do with this meeting.”

Shanaya didn’t reply but just smiled smugly. It took a moment until the board members, except the one who was responsible for the earlier comment, understood. Sensing his confusion, Shanaya decided to be kind (god forbid a _woman_ hurt his fragile pride) and clear his doubt.

“Sir, let me ask you a simple question.” She paused, the air thrumming with the sound of silence. 

“What is my name?”

“Shanaya Anderson.”

“That ring any bells?”

A look of realization dawned upon him. With a few words reassuring them she will handle the company _just_ fine, Shanaya exited the conference room and made her way towards her office. Upon entering, she was greeted with a sight she hoped to never see in her life. 

“Hello, Lillian,” Shanaya greeted, voice crackling with spite.

“My! My! Is that the tone you use to greet someone you are meeting after a long time?” Lillian chided, voice lilting in the stereotypical villain sort of way. Oh how Shanaya yearned to wipe that smirk off of her face.

“Well…that’s how _I_ reply to someone responsible for putting three bullet wounds in my body,” Shanaya said as a matter-of-fact, voice sharp.

“That is understandable,” Lillian says, voice dripping with so much empathy that Shanaya had a half a mind to tell her to pursue an acting career. 

“Just tell me the reason for your visit so we can get this done with.”

“I just,” Lilian said innocently, “wanted to see how well the company is doing in your hands.”

“You and I know very well know that I will handle it perfectly,” Shanaya says sharply.

“That…maybe true,” Lilian acquiesced.

“Thought I’d never see the day.” If Lilian noticed her mock, she hid it well. “Now tell me why you are here.”

“I already told you—”

“Cut the crap! I know you are here to find out whether or not Lex’s experiment was a success, so get on with it.”

Unknowingly Lillian had lead Shanaya to the balcony.

_What the hell is wrong with you, Shanaya?_

With all the force she could muster, Lilian pushed Shanaya of the balcony. Shanaya screamed as she fell, hoping and praying that Supergirl would appear. A strong blow of wind came as an answer to her prayers as Kara came to her rescue. She gently placed her back on the balcony.

"You okay?" Kara asked. Shanaya nodded.

  
"Who pushed you off?"

  
" _Lillian_. You should call the DEO"

  
Kara spoke to Alex over the comms while Shanaya went to grab a glass of water for herself.

  
"Alex has sent some agents. Let's head to the DEO?" Kara asked.

* * *

Shanaya pulls the grey door gingerly. When it doesn’t budge she notices the ‘push’ sign and groans inwardly. She pushes the door open and enters Lena’s room silently.

She notices Alex and Lena talking animatedly about something. She feels a pang seeing Lena resting on the white bed, but she looks healthy. 

Shanaya clears her throat, hating herself for having to disturb the two friends. Alex immediately came skipping over and enveloped Shanaya in a bone-crushing hug. She wished she would get hugged like that every so often, maybe then all her troubles will go away (and the telltale signs of premature wrinkles).

“Hey!” Alex says as a way of greeting, “Are you okay? Kara told me Lillian was in your office today and pushed you off the balcony”

“ _Lillian_ pushed you off the _balcony_?” Lena asked, shocked. 

“Yes, she did. And I’m fine. At least she didn’t shoot me like she did last time,” Shanaya replies nonchalantly, brushing off all their concerns.

“She shot you the last time!” Kara shouts in surprise.

“Keep your voice down,” Shanaya whisper-shouts.

“She _shot_ me to tell me to not interact with Lena. Like three bullets will stop me,” She scoffed.

Brainy walks in just then and Shanaya belatedly wonder if she also pulled the door instead of pushing it. She can’t be the only one who makes a fool of herself every time!

“You caught her?” Lena asked Brainy, if she had any semblance of hope in her, she didn’t show it.

“I hate to be the harbinger of bad news but no, she got away. I’m tired of going after your family. No offense,” Brainy replied, bone-weary of the antics he had to deal with.

“None taken. At least my brother is dead,” Lena sighs, leaning back on her bed.

“And I hope he _stays_ that way,” Kara adds pointedly.

“Anyway, I brought lunch. Anyone hungry?” Shanaya asked, holding up bags that is enough to feed an army.

* * *

A few weeks had passed by. Shanaya along with the two sisters regularly visited Lena and shared a few meals together. Each time she would constantly whine about wanting to go home and finally, one such day, Alex deemed her fit enough to be discharged. Although Kara told her she would be allowed to go home on one condition.

“What is it, Kara?” Lena enquired impatiently. She was tired of being surrounded by clinical white lights and being fussed over. Also the hospital food _sucks_.

“ _I_ get to take you home,” Kara replied.

“Okay fine. What's wrong with that?” Lena asked, not getting the ‘condition’ Kara proposed.

“She meant that she will _fly_ you home,” Alex smirked.

“Nope. Not at all. Not happening,” Lena protested, eyes widening as she felt anxious at the prospect of being _flown_ over to her house. Her knees clicked together as remembered her fright and weightlessness from the last time as Kara zoomed through the city sky, which she would have admired if it weren’t for the flight speed that brought her heart to her throat.

“Please! Please, please,” Kara begged. Lena shook her head adamantly, “Nope, not happening. I’m not going through that again.”

“Come on, Lena. Just agree to it. Otherwise, you will be stuck here for a long time,” Shanaya chided, a nasty smile on her face.

For a long moment, Lena battled with the thought in her head, all the while the room was comfortably silent as if they all knew Lena’s response already. She really wanted out of this place and if it meant playing along to Kara’s demands then…

“ _So be it_ ,” she admitted to just herself.

Gathering her wits, she acquiesced.

* * *

Kara gingerly landed on the balcony, carefully setting Lena down. Lena wobbled for a moment trying to get a hold of her bearing and swimming stomach. 

Kara decided to leave her alone and closed the balcony door. A moment after stepping in she heard knocking. 

“Right, Shanaya doesn’t have a key,” Kara realized. She helped Lena sit on the couch and went to let Shanaya in. 

“I need a key,” Shanaya says conversationally, eyes passing over a comically wheezing Lena. 

She and Kara decide to keep Lena’s stuff in her room as they think Lena might need more time to recover from the flight.

A few minutes later, Shanaya brought Lena her crutch. Lena motioned for it to be placed next to her.

As soon as Kara took the seat next to Lena, the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. Kara groaned and let out a comment, _“why can’t the bad people give me a darned break sometimes?”_

Shanaya and Lena chuckled at Kara’s annoyance, both knowing that Kara loved her job wholeheartedly. 

Suddenly Lena held her breath as Kara leaned towards her with a mysterious smile and placed a lasting kiss on Lena’s forehead. She got up and gave Shanaya a hug and after a promise of her return, she took off.

The kiss leads to a deep coloration, starting at the tips of her ears and then, much to Lena’s chagrin, her face. 

This does not go unnoticed as Shanaya raised her eyebrow at Lena.

“What?!?” Lena exclaimed, her voice suddenly high which just added to her embarrassment.

“You’re _blushing_ ,” Shanaya stated the obvious.

“No, I’m not!”

“Lee, you aren’t convincing anyone. Admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“You like Kara.”

“ _Of course_ I like Kara. She is my best friend.”

“Lee _tá tú ag súil go gcreideann mé thú_?”

Instead Lena replied, ignoring Shanaya’s question, “Get me something to drink.”

“I’m dropping it,” Shanaya said, moving to the kitchen, but she called out loudly, “but just for now!” 

* * *

  
Lena and Shanaya were watching a movie in the former’s bedroom when the doorbell trilled, shocking both of them out of the daze of entertainment. Shanaya was the first one to break out of the reverie and answered the door. 

She was greeted by an unfamiliar woman. 

“You must be Shanaya, right?” The woman asked politely after they exchanged pleasantries.

“Yes, and…you are?” Shanaya enquired with a smile.

“I’m Nia Nal.” the woman, Nia, extended her hand for a handshake.

“Oh right. Come on in.” Shanaya opened the door.

“I came to see how Lena is doing,” Nia says after Shanaya closed the door.

“She’s in the bedroom,” Shanaya said directing her in the direction, “I’m making tea, would you like a cup?”

“Yes, thank you.”

* * *

“Nia, come on in!” Lena exclaims, sitting up from where she was mindlessly watching the T.V., “Gosh, it’s been so long since I saw you.” 

Nia sits down next to her and Lena immediately pulls the younger woman for a hug.

“Yeah, you were busy risking your life,” Nia says sarcastically.

“Oh, leave me alone, will you? I have heard enough from the others.”

“You deserve it,” Nia chides. Gosh what was is with everyone suddenly playing the role of the mother hen with Lena?

Shanaya traipsed into the room, two steaming cups of tea in hand. She cautiously handed the brimming cups to them and decided to leave so as to let them talk.

“How are you?” Lena asks Nia, blowing at the tea.

“I’m doing good,” Nia replies, looking at the cup in her hand.

“Nia I heard about the break-up.” 

"He felt that was what he needed, so I had to give it to him. His happiness matters more.” 

“Nia, we are talking about Brainy here. I can see how both of you are breaking.”

“We will figure it out when the time is right,” she says and sips her tea. Lena’s instinct told her that it was the end of that discussion.

“Okay. Movie?” 

“Yeah sure. Call Shanaya in too,” Nia says, making herself comfortable.

“Béirín!”

Shanaya pops her head in with an enquiring look.

“Movie?”

“Later. You have no grocery and I need to prepare dinner. Oh, and Kara messaged me telling that she and Alex are coming over for dinner. Why don't you call the whole gang over? Nia’s here already.”

  
“Good idea. You will prepare dinner?”

Shanaya nods her head, “How many people are we expecting?”

“About…8 including you and me, plus a Kryptonian.”

“Done,” Shanaya says and almost leaves but Nia offers to order the food in bulk.

“No, it’s okay. I want to,” Shanaya says, laughing. She loves cooking! It’s the only other thing she is good at other than running a billion-dollar company.

“Shanaya cooks the best food _ever_ ,” Lena adds, winking.

Shanaya tips an imaginary hat and courtesies towards the kitchen that's all hers.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Tá tú ag súil go gcreideann mé thú? - You expect me to believe you?
> 
> Béirín! - little bear
> 
> feel free to comment scenarios you would love to see!


	6. I know, I know they're gonna (Say what they wanna)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is an unedited version. Please forgive me for any mistakes. And also point them out. Don't worry I won't bite.  
> E/N: Apologies readers! I haven't edited this chapter cus I'm currently preparing for a very important exam.
> 
> Title from: Broken Glass (Rachel Platten)
> 
> For those who have been with me from the beginning I have added chapter titles so check 'em out. and next chap is going to take time cause we both are busy and we don't want to give you crappy chapters. so I'm sorry.

Everything was easing back to normal. Alex had asked Kara to bring Lena over to the DEO for a checkup. Shanaya was at Lena’s apartment going through her mails when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to see Nia in tears standing outside. She quickly wiped her tears.

“I thought Lena or Kara would be here. I stopped by Kara’s apartment but she wasn’t there,” Nia asked, her voice wobbly.

“Kara had to take Lena to the DEO for a checkup,” Shanaya whispered, worried what might have caused the young girl to cry so much.

“Oh, I didn't know. I’m so sorry to disturb you. I’ll go,”

“Hey hey no. It’s okay. You didn’t disturb me. I know we just met but you can trust me. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I don’t want you to be alone. Just come in and drink a glass of water. You can wait here until they come back,”

“Thank you so much,”

Shanaya just smiled at her and led to the couch. She went to the kitchen to get Nia a glass of water. She offered the glass of water and went to work on the emails, giving the girl some space. Nia’s phone pinged with a notification. Nia checked it and immediately broke down. Shanaya went and pulled her into a hug. 

“It’s okay. Shh... it’s okay,” Shanaya murmured to calm the girl down.

Nia’s tears finally subsided. 

Shanaya looked at her, " You okay?”

Nia just nodded in response. 

“I know we just met but seeing you break down like this, I know it's something big. You can tell me about it. I will listen in on confidentiality. You can trust me,” Shanaya whispered softly.

“Has Lena ever told you about us?” Nia asked.

“Yes, quite a lot actually,” 

“Well, so you may know that I, um... I,”

“You have transitioned. Yes, I am aware of that,” 

“You have no problem wit that?”

“Why would I? It’s how you identify yourself. Who am I to have a problem with that?”

Nia gave a slight smile before she continued, “An incident happened at CatCo today. Andrea is thinking about selling the company. The only potential buyer she has had so far is Morgan Edge, you have about him, right?” she waited for Shanaya confirmation before she continued, " He had come over to, I don’t know, check out the interiors I guess. I was working on an article when he came to me and told to meet him in the conference room. Andrea gave me a look, so I knew I couldn’t say no. I followed him there and… he…,”

“It’s okay, take your time,” 

“He proceeded to invalidate me, call me names and tell me that the first person who will leave after he takes over is me,” Nia said, before a fresh bout of tears followed.

Shanaya is shocked into silence and the only thing she can do is pull Nia into a hug. Shanaya feels like her heart is tearing into two and soul has been ripped away from her body. She can't help but let out a few tears. Listening to her cry makes the former want to protect her from the evil of the world and she feels miserable knowing that she won’t be able to do so.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this. And it feels even more pathetic that I have nothing else to say,” Shanaya says, ashamed. 

“Please, can you just hold me?” Nia whispers, her voice sounding so weak.

Shanaya just holds her closer in response and gently cards her fingers through her hair. A few minutes later, she can hear Nia’s breath even out and knows that she has fallen asleep. She grabs one of the blanket lying on the couch and wraps it around her. She then tries to crawl out and place her down when Nia whimpers and holds her hand in a vice like grip. Shanaya immediately throws away that idea and proceeds to work while still holding the shorter girl.

* * *

“Do you have to hold the conference?” Shanaya whined from her place at the foot of Lena’s closed door.

Lena  decided to hold a press conference regarding the renaming of LuthorCorp… again.

“Yes, I have to and you know that I have to,” Lena replied, smiling though Shanaya couldn’t see her. She decide to wear a simple blue dress with minimal makeup deciding to forego any accessories.

She finished applying the last touches of her makeup, grabbed her clutch and opened the door without knowing that Shanaya was leaning against it on the other side. 

“Oof…ouch, Lena,” Shanaya  screamed , a pout on her face.

“I’m sorry,” Lena replied, bending down and rubbing her younger sister’s head.

“Stop doing that. You are spoiling my hair,” Shanaya replied, ducking away.

“You are a kid,” Lena replied fondly, “Go fix your hair. We have to leave.”

“Do we have to?” Shanaya whined once more.

“What is up with you? Why do you not want me to go?” Lena asked softly, pulling Shanaya in a hug.

“Because… I feel lazy,” Shanaya lied.

“Tell me the truth,” Lena asked.

“It’s just… I almost lost you once, I don’t want to go through that again,” Lena was about to protest but Shanaya stopped her, “ I know Lex is dead but Lillian is still alive. What if she does something?” 

  
  


_“Béirín (little bear) ,_ I can’t live my life in fear of what my enemies might do. If I did so, then I won’t be able to get any work done,” Lena replied.   
  


Shanaya hated that Lena made sense. The number of times she had gotten close to losing Lena is  frightening for her. There were days and nights, hours and minutes that she has spent far away from Lena, hoping and praying that she was all right. There are days where she would get a gut feeling that something was wrong with Lena and she would immediately want to catch a flight to wherever Lena is and hug her. But the only thing she could do was pick up the phone call her and make sure she was alright. 

But now being so close to her and being able to protect her makes her so relieved. If only Lena would stop putting herself in dangerous situations.

“Okay fine. Give me a minute I will get ready,” Shanaya replied with a sigh. 

* * *

Shanaya and Lena make their way towards the podium when they are stopped by Kara. 

“Do you have to hold this conference?” Kara asks, her expression worried.

“That is what I asked her,” Shanaya says, pointing an accusatory finger at Lena. 

“Yes I have to. Kara I already did it once,” Lena replies

“And there was a bomb blast the last time,” Kara points out.

“What are you two talking about?” Shanaya asks, confused

“Right. You don’t know about the crisis. Don’t worry I’ll get Jonn to bring you up to date,” Kara replies.

“It's getting late. Can you both let me go, please?” Lena asks the two of them.

“Yeah okay, go wow them,” Kara replies, chuckling.

“You would probably remember my speech from somewhere else,” Lena replies, her eyes twinkling.

* * *

“I want to thank you all for coming,” Lena began her speech, feeling a déjà vu moment, “My brother hurt a lot of good innocent people, my family owes a debt not just to Metropolis but to everyone, and I intend to pay that.”

Shanaya felt something reflect in her eyes, but quickly dismissed it as the sun’s glare. 

“By renaming my company L-Corp we will usher into a new age of cooperation and community. Together we will chart a bright future,” Lena continues

Shanaya feels the reflection again and glances around trying to find the source. She immediately spots a snipper posted on a balcony and her eyes widen in shock. She sees the bullet before she hears it. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion after that. She sees the bullet leaving the gun and making its way toward Lena, Kara registering the gunshot and turning round. She immediately pulls Lena close to her and turns around making the bulllet hit her body before ducking down. If anyone saw that they would just assume that she ducked out of the way just in time. 

She gets back up in time to see Kara change into her Supergirl suit and go after the snipper. She looks down to she the bullet casing and pushes it away  sneakily . 

“Are you okay?” Shanaya turns to Lena, looking her over checking for injuries.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What about you? You shielded me from the bullet,” Lena asks

“I ducked away just in time don’t worry,” Shanaya replies.

She turns her head to see the snipper getting handcuffed and dragged away by D.E.O agents. Kara then turns to look at her, wearing an expression conveying that she saw what Shanaya did.

_

“I told you I’m fine, Kara. Shanaya saved me just in time,” Lena replies once the three of them with Alex gets back to Lena’s apartment.

“Yeah, it’s a good thing she was near you,” Alex replies.

“Let me get changed. Alex, you can help yourself to any drink that I have and get a glass for me too. Shanaya, you can go up and change into some comfy clothes while Kara can fly home and get some clothes for herself and Alex. Let’s have an impromptu movie night,” Lena suggests. 

“Great idea,” Kara replies back enthusiastically. Shanaya just nods her head in agreement. 

Shanaya leaves the apartment to go to her own. As soon as she enters her own apartment, she opens the balcony doors knowing that Kara would come over. Just as Shanaya predicted Kara lands down on her balcony.

“What the hell was that? How did the bullet not affect you?” Kara shouts.

“I told you Kara, I ducked away just in time,” Shanaya replies

“Shanaya, you may be forgetting that I have super speed. I saw everything. And besides there was no way you would have been able to reach Lena so fast if you didn’t have super powers,” Kara pauses before she continues, “Wait a minute. Do you..Do you have powers?”

Shanaya decides that its now or never. 

“Yes I do,” Shanaya replies, looking at everything but Kara.

“What?!?” Kara shouts.

“Shh…Calm down,” Shanaya whispers, as if doing that will make Kara do the same thing.

“Calm down? You have super powers and you want me to calm down! ,” Kara continues to shout.

“Why don’t you say that a little more loudly, Kara? I’m pretty sure those in Ireland couldn’t hear you!” Shanaya replies sarcastically.

“I didn’t know that you were an alien,” Kara says.

“I’m not. At least I wasn’t before the kidnapping,” Shanaya mumbles.

“What kidnapping?” Kara asks.

“Sit down,” Shanaya replies.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter you will get to know about the kidnapping.
> 
> On a side note: how do you guys feel about the scene between Kara and Lena in 5×18?  
>  and drop songs that remind you of supercorp.


	7. They started sayin', when you can't hide, run (When you can't run, hide)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Unedited version. And I'm so so so sorry for the very late chapter. We have been really busy. 
> 
> Title from: Run and Hide (Sabrina Carpenter)

“A few weeks before Lena took a foolish decision and go after Lex and Leviathan on her own, Lex kidnapped me,” Shanaya began.

“Wait, what?!?” Kara shouted, standing up.

“Are you going to keep interrupting me?” Shanaya waited for Kara to shake her head before continuing, “He took me to an abandoned warehouse and strapped to a medical bed and performed experiments on me,”

Shanaya’s mind drifted to the horrifying ordeal, and a _shiver_ ran through her.

“Hey, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to,” Kara whispered, holding Shanaya’s hand and gave a light squeeze.

“No, no, it’s okay. I have held inside for so long, I think it’s best if I let out,” Shanaya said, giving Kara a weak smile, “He had created a serum that could turn a human DNA into that of a Kryptonian’s. That way he could have his own Kryptonian killing machine. He kidnapped me so he could get back at Lena for choosing to fight against him. If the experiment was a success, then Lena would’ve lost me. If not, he could just kill me. Either way, Lena _loses_ someone,”

She took a shaky breath to center herself before she marched on, “After they injected me with the serum the first time, they had to check whether it was a success. So they cut me with a knife to see if I bled," she lifted up her top to show two huge cuts stretching across her midriff, "The first two times I bled, Lex got so mad… he would yell at me as if it was my fault that the experiment wasn’t working. On the third try, however, it was a success, but Lex wasn’t around to witness it. By the time he came to the warehouse, Superman had rescued me and burned down the place, and the only other person who knew died in the fire,”

“I didn’t tell anyone about it, well anyone except Clark, because Lex was still around and he would’ve done everything in his power to get me. And now you know,” Shanaya said.

Kara was silent for so long, Shanaya thought she might be frozen.

“Wow, you went through so much. How.. How are you able to stay sane after all that and keep it inside you?” Kara asked, shocked.

“The same way you can. You lost your entire planet and loved ones more than once, but you still smile and make the world a better place,” Shanaya replied, smiling.

“I had people who were with me and had my back,” Kara replied, her mind drifting to the people she called family.

“So did I. Even though technically only one person knew about it,” Shanaya replied, chuckling.

Her facial expression then became serious, “Kara, I need you to promise me something,”

“Anything,” Kara replied  
  
“You can’t tell Lena about this. Lillian is still out there. That day she pushed me off the balcony to see if I would use my powers to save myself. If she gets to know, I don’t know what would happen,”  
  
“Hey don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Kara replies, “Come here,”  
  
Kara pulls Shanaya into a tight hug. The hug was all it took for Shanaya to break. _I really hate small touches_ , Shanaya thought.  
  
Kara pulled back after a while, “I’m so proud of you,”  
  
Shanaya let out a weak smile.  
  
“But you know there is an advantage,” Kara said, excited.  
  
Shanaya raised her eyebrow and in that moment Kara thought looked like Lena’s photocopy. _Maybe she learnt it from Lena._  
  
“You and I could be Kryptonian best friends,” Kara said, clapping her hands.  
  
“Oh dear god, save me,” Shanaya said sarcastically.  
  
“Hey, come on. It will be so fun. With our super hearing, we don’t even have to use our phones to talk to each other,” Kara said, thrilled at the idea.  
  
“That sounds fun,” Shanaya reluctantly agreed.  
  
“And after we put Lillian away we could do superheroing together,” Kara added, giggling.  
  
“ _No way_. Nope, I’m not doing that,” Shanaya replied, shaking head.  
  
“Oh, trust me I’m gonna make you do it,” Kara said, her eyes mischievous.  
  
“Not doing it. Now go. Lena and Alex are waiting for us,” Shanaya said pushing Kara off the balcony knowing that she will be perfectly fine.  
  
“Hey!” Kara laughed before she flew off.

Shanaya smiled to herself, feeling light for the first time after the kidnapping. Now she only has to worry about Lillian, _oh and Lena_. “Lord help me,” she whispered, looking up at the sky.

* * *

The three of them had just finished watching a movie when Shanaya jumped up at screamed snack refill. Lena just shook her head at her younger sister’s antics before going to kitchen to refill and place order for dinner.

“What are you doing there? Come help me,” Lena chastised Shanaya. The latter just groaned and made a huge show of lifting herself off the couch.

They went to the kitchen. Shanaya leaned against the kitchen slab and studied Lena for a minute.

“Are you going to talk to her?” Shanaya asked.

“To whom,” Lena asked even though she knew who _'her’_ was.

Shanaya rolled her eyes at Lena’s attempt to act nonchalant, but never the less she spelled it out to her, “Kara,”

“I’m talking to her,” Lena replied.

“Lena,” Shanaya whined, turning Lena to face her.

“Yeah yeah I will. I’m just scared,” Lena replied, biting her lip.

“She’s your best friend, Lena. You have nothing to fear,” Shanaya reassured her before reaching out to grab a popcorn. Lena swatted her hand away, laughing.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the room, Alex and Kara were having a similar talk.

“What if she never wants to talk to me again after what I did?” Kara asked

“Are you even listening to yourself, Kara! Lena? Hate you?” Alex replied, amusement evident in her tone.

Kara just pouted at her.

“Just talk to her. She can never hate you,” Alex replied, giving her sister an one-armed hug.

* * *

“Hey,” Lena attempted to start a conversation.

Shanaya and Alex went home after they finished watching three movies, claiming that they had to wake up early tomorrow.

“Hi. How are you?” Kara asked.

“I’m good,” Lena replied, staring at the wineglass in her hand.

“No, I mean, how are you _actually_ doing after everything that happened?” Kara asked, looking at her softly. Lena looked beautiful illuminated by the moonlight.

“Remember before the crisis when I had shot Lex? That is when I got to know your secret. At first I was shocked and refused to believe it. Then I became angry because I trusted you and you broke it,” Kara was about to interrupt but Lena stopped her, “No please don't interrupt. I need to finish,”

“My mind replayed every time someone betrayed me and I was so mad that there was _yet another_ name to add to the list, even after all the walls I built up. I stopped listening to my heart and listened to my head instead. _Big_ mistake ,” she chuckled dryly.

“Then the crisis happened, and I was so scared that I would lose you that at that point I was ready to do anything to have you in my arms again. Then the next thing I know I’m in  my apartment and Lex is serving me breakfast. He gave me an option to choose you or him. I knew that I would always choose you,” Lena gave Kara a small smile.  


“But I chose his side so we could have an advantage. I could get to know what he was planning and be two steps ahead of him. Kara, I never chose his side because I didn’t trust you or because I was angry at you. I was angry initially but the fear of losing you won and I understood everything. No matter what happens I would always, _always_ take a decision that will protect you even if I have to sacrifice my own life,” Kara gave her a pointed look.

“You mean _too_ much to me,” Lena whispered, launching herself into Kara’s arms.

“You mean too much to me too, Lena. You mean the _world_ to me. I would lose myself if anythinghappened to you. I tried so many times to tell you my secret, but something always happened that stopped me. And I didn’t want you to push me away. I might be selfish but Lena whenever I was around you I didn’t have to pretend to be anyone. At work, I was Kara Danvers, a bubbly reporter that never has a bad day. To the public, I had to be this powerful personality that anyone can look up to. Even with those know me as Kara and Supergirl, I had to be strong. But with you I didn’t have to put up a front. I can just be plain ol’ Kara. And I loved that so much that I never want to go away. I’m so sorry, but I was selfish for once in life,” Kara said looking down.

“Hey don’t apologize. It’s okay to feel that way. It can get tiring to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time. And I’m happy that you feel comfortable enough to be yourself around me. And just because I know your secret, that doesn’t mean that you change the way you are, okay? You can be yourself, the real Kara Danvers,” Lena replies.

“Kara Zor-El,” Kara whispers.

“Huh?”

“My real name is Kara Zor-El,” Kara says smiling.

“Okay, Kara Zor-El, I’m Lena Kieren Luthor,” Lena says, extending her hand for a handshake.

“Hello, Lena,” Kara accepts the offered hand, laughing.

“No more secrets, please?” Lena says.

“No more, I promise,” Kara says.

“But there is one more secret I need to tell you. I’m scared to tell this. Promise me that this won’t change anything between us?” Lena waits for Kara to nod.

"This secret is almost four years old. Ilikeyou," Lena whispered in one breath.  


“Lena, I may have super hearing but I couldn’t understand a word of what you said,”

“I like you,” Lena said a little more clearly.

Kara could hear Shanaya drop a vase and squeal in the apartment above.

“Okay… thank God. That’s a _huge_ relief,” Kara breathes out.

“No, Kara. I like like you,” Lena says, rolling eyes.

“Oh… _oh_ ,” Kara says.

“I shouldn’t have said that. Forget it, I said nothing,” Lena says, covering her face.

Kara chuckled and pulls Lena’s hand from her face and looks at her lovingly. She gently cups Lena’s face and pushes a strand of hair behind her ears. She then looks down to Lena’s lips and darts her eyes back up. She looks into the piercing green eyes and sees that the owner also wants the same thing. She closes her eyes and gently leans forward and stops, giving Lena the option to continue or turn away.

As if Lena will ever turn away. She closes the distance and feels fireworks burst behind her eyes. They pull back after what feels like hours but only feels like minutes.

“Wow,” Lena whispers.

“Yeah, _wow_ ,” Kara whispers leaning her forehead against Lena’s.

“Does this mean that you like me too?” Lena asks.

“Didn’t the kiss tell you,” Kara says chuckling, "Yes, Lena, I _like_ you too.”

“So what do you say for a date?” Lena asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Whenever you are free,” Kara says, smirking.

"So tell me about Krypton," Lena says.

"Really?!?" Kara exclaims, surprised that someone wants to know about her.

"Yes, why are you surprised?" Lena asks.

"No one has asked me before," Kara asks.

"Okay then tell me. I want to know _everything_ ," Lena asks, her eyes shining.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was it?


End file.
